Social psychological perspective on stress and stress coping for working Kosovo Albanian mothers in Sweden and Kosovo

Abstract: Stress is something that affects women throughout their lives and has a huge effect on wellbeing. The negative consequences of gender inequality make it harder for women to improve their lives and be a part of the labour market because of responsibilities with children and housework. Women experience high levels of stress, which creates a burden affecting their health. The study aims to understand how gender roles, living and working conditions affect stress and stress coping for working Kosovo Albanian mothers in Sweden and Kosovo. The main focus is to understand how work-home relations affect these women in different societies. The study is based on theories of stress, stress coping, theory of gender and determinants of health. A qualitative study was carried out with individual semi-structured interviews concentrating on the phenomenological perspective with an in-depth insight into the women's experiences. Five women living in Sweden and five women living in Kosovo were interviewed digitally. The results show that personality, working and living conditions and social and community networks affect the experience and interpretation of stress and the choice of stress coping for the women depending on the context.